Everyone wins in education program
With the alarming rise in antisemitism and the concurrent decrease in people’s knowledge of the Holocaust, the task of countering this trend can feel overwhelming.
This year, 24 dedicated Orange County teens have stepped up to face this challenge by joining Student to Student (STS), a Rose Project program of the Jewish Federation of Orange County. This national peer-to-peer educational program, now in its second year locally, has a 20-year track record in training teens to educate others about the Jewish people and Judaism through personal storytelling. Through their stories, STS ambassadors foster understanding, empathy and connection.
By the end of this school year, the Student to Student ambassadors will have given approximately 30 classroom presentations to public middle and high school students across Orange County, to well over 1,000 students, many of whom may not personally know a Jewish person.
These interactions bring a human face to Judaism as ambassadors share who the Jewish people are; our customs, holidays and life cycle events; our connection to Israel; the impact of the Holocaust; and their personal experiences with current day antisemitism. And all of this is done within a 55-minute classroom period.
A recent study by the Anti-Defamation League researched a number of topics to better understand which factors are linked to higher levels of anti-Jewish attitudes. It revealed that people who believe a higher number of anti-Jewish tropes tend to 1) know little about Jews, Judaism and Jewish history; 2) do not have any relationships with Jewish people; and 3) don’t think that Jews face hostility or danger in the U.S. today.
Student presentations address all three of these concerns. In classrooms where literature about the Holocaust is being studied, STS presentations illuminate that the Jewish people in history are very similar to students they connect with in the presentation.
“The students were relatable, so passionate, they were confident and they had such clever approaches to engaging students,” one 8th grade teacher in Santa Ana shared. “I really appreciated how they first taught about Judaism, and then addressed the Holocaust and antisemitism after teaching about their culture. It prioritizes that Judaism is a rich culture existing today, and not … something to simply see through the eyes of the Holocaust or history books.”
All STS presentations are done with props, such as a mini Torah, a tallit, and other ritual items. The STS ambassadors share the 1,250 page book “And Every Single One Was Someone” in which the word “Jew” is written 6 million times in a daring attempt to give some small sense of this overwhelming number murdered during the Holocaust.
“I really liked the presentation,” one student said. “The way they spoke made me much more aware about how Jewish people are still being treated. … It was nice of them to raise awareness.” Another student wrote, “I loved it!! It was very interesting and would like to learn more.”
Everyone wins in this program.
Teachers have a program that brings a new dimension to their curriculum; students walk away with greater understanding and appreciation for the Jewish people; and the STS teen ambassadors feel empowered and strengthen their voice as they proudly share their personal Jewish experience.
“I would estimate that in 90% of the classes we spoke to, not a single student knew a Jewish person,” one ambassador said. “It was a powerful experience to realize that what we said would be the first thing these kids would hear about Judaism. I would recommend STS to any Jewish high schooler and the advice I would give them is to take the program seriously and really educate yourself—both independently and with the incredible resources provided by STS—because what you say really holds incredible weight and can seriously make a difference in preventing antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
If you are interested in participating in Student to Student, as a student ambassador, or as an educator interested in bringing this program to your classroom, contact Robin Steinmetz, Student to Student Coordinator, at rsteinmetz@jfedoc.org. You can learn more here. Applications are now open for the 2023-24 school year.
Robin Steinmetz is a contributing writer to Jlife magazine.